Feds threaten lawsuit over kids in nursing homes

The Associated Press

Wednesday

Sep 26, 2012 at 4:28 PM

Federal investigators threatened legal action Tuesday over cases of disabled children sent to adult nursing homes.

MIAMI — Federal investigators threatened swift legal action Tuesday if Florida health officials do not work with them to resolve allegations that children with disabilities are being sent to adult nursing homes unnecessarily.

In a terse letter, U.S. Department of Justice officials said the state is violating the federal Americans with Disabilities Act by allowing more than 200 children with disabilities — including babies — to be segregated in nursing homes, often for years, without a clear path to return home.

"We hope you will reconsider your unwillingness to cooperate with our investigation," Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez wrote to state health officials, noting his agency has resolved similar issues in Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina and Delaware.

Federal investigators said they requested information from the state nine months ago, but the state declined.

"If a mutually agreeable resolution is not possible, we will not hesitate to take swift and appropriate legal action," Perez said in the letter.

He said his staff would travel to Florida and suggested a meeting in the next two weeks. Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Liz Dudek signaled in a statement that she was "open to meeting with DOJ to clarify their misunderstanding."

State health officials have repeatedly denied the allegations and insisted they are in compliance with federal law.

Dudek said in a prepared statement that children are receiving the "medically necessary" services they need.

She sent staff to visit the nursing homes earlier this month and noted her staff had also met with parents to make sure they feel the child is in the best place. She said those efforts were well received.

"The state has acted swiftly to ensure that parents are aware of the service options available under the Medicaid program," Dudek said.

But federal investigators said they continue to receive calls from families and advocates.

Investigators said the state has slashed in-home medical services for disabled children, leaving families with no option other than nursing homes. The state has cut 24-hour in-home nursing and other home-based services for children on ventilators, feeding tubes and other complicated technology.

"Time is of the essence ... parents are being forced to confront the cruel choice of struggling daily to find a way to care for their child at home without necessary supports or placing their child in a nursing facility," Perez said in the letter.

The federal investigation mirrors a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of several children against the state in a South Florida federal court earlier this year.

The lawsuit asserts that children languish in the adult facilities, sharing common areas with elderly patients and having few interactions with others, rarely leaving the nursing homes or going outside. After visiting children in six nursing homes, investigators noted the children are not exposed to social, educational and recreational activities that are critical to child development.

Educational opportunities are limited to as little as 45 minutes a day, according to federal authorities.

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